Where food ideas are born: Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers

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At Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers, one of the only rental kitchens in Lee, budding cooks of all kinds have found a home.

John Giaccone, owner of Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers, holds a tray of pastries made by Astoria Custom Cakes. Astoria Custom Cakes, a to-order specialty baker, is one of the kitchen's members.(Photo: Special to The News-Press)

Late in the day on a Friday, when most of the working world is headed to a close, Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers hums with activity.

Kristy Skillrud of Kristy's Kreeations, a catering company, is leaned over a bowl of stuffing, wooden spoon in hand, filling mushrooms for an evening event. Shan Peele of E'Leep's Catering buzzes through the kitchen on his way to the refrigerator where he has trays of shrimp and grits, collard greens, black-eyed peas and peach cobbler ready for a private dinner at a home in Gulf Harbour. He loads the trays on carts, and on his way out passes Neil Falcone of Falcone's Cheesecakes, who supplies homemade cheesecakes to area restaurants including a standing order at Cypress Cove. Falcone sits on a stool in the kitchen talking to private chef Jimmy Duggan of Convenient Cuisine, while Elena Morozova of Astoria Custom Cakes drops off a plate of pastries.

On any given day, there's no telling how many of the Commercial Kitchen's 30 members might pass through.

In addition to bakers, caterers and private chefs, this shared, inspected and fully licensed kitchen is the base of operations for even more niche-food specialists, including a gluten-free cracker baker, an almond milk maker and a kombucha brewer. Commercial Kitchen features its own takeout lunch counter at the front — CKFM Lunch to Go, a venture owned by Giaccone and partner Matthew Schumacher.

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John Giaccone, who co-owns CKFM Lunch to Go in south Fort Myers, says customers tell him, "We love this place. We only have 30 minutes for lunch, and we get out in three minutes flat."
Artis Henderson/Special to The News-Press

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As one of the only shared kitchen spaces in Lee County, Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers has become a hub for the area's food entrepreneurs, providing a rare space for them to work and network.

“I get calls from out of state,” founder John Giaccone says. “The word is getting out that this is a shared commercial kitchen where we work with food entrepeneurs.”

Giaccone opened the rental space and commissary on Metro Parkway in south Fort Myers in April 2016.

His facility features commercial-grade Vulcan ovens and ranges, an infrared char broiler, a bakery sheeter, a 60-quart stand mixer, two deep fryers, pots, pans and much more — plus all the not-so-glamorous things professional cooks need to get started (in-ground grease traps, stainless-steel prep areas, a pair of three-compartment washing sinks).

So how does a budding cook end up at a commercial kitchen?

Skillrud says when she decided to launch her catering company a year and a half ago, she contacted churches, golf courses and VFW posts looking for a kitchen where she could rent space. The state of Florida requires caterers to work out of a facility that can be inspected at any time — that means no in-home kitchens. Eventually she came across Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers, where for a monthly fee she has dry storage, cold storage and 24-hour access to the kitchen. She's currently the kitchen's biggest user, and most days you'll find her working at one of the prep tables.

Kristy Skillrud of Kristy's Kreeations, a catering company, decorates a custom cookie cake at Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers. Skillrud is the kitchen's largest user of hours. "I'm always here," she says.(Photo: Special to The News-Press)

Members schedule their hours ahead of time, and up to five members can work in the kitchen at once — though on average it's usually two or three. While some, like Skillrud, prefer the day shift, others like to come in late.

"I usually work at night, anywhere from 10 on," says Peele of E'Leep Catering. "It's like my little meditation. It's nice and quiet, and I get free range of the whole kitchen."

The night shift is a favorite of Falcone, too, who likes making his cheesecakes from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

"I don't get in anybody's way," he says. "I put Spotify on my phone and listen to Jethro Tull while I work."

When the Commercial Kitchen's members do cross paths, there's often collaboration. They'll swap tips on where to find the cheapest to-go containers, or give leads on how to track down truffles. Sometimes they even trade ingredients.

Kris Jacobs, owner of Bucha Town, brews his kombucha at Commercial Kitchen Fort Myers, and sells it at local markets and health food stores.(Photo: Special to The News-Press)

"You meet people here and everything overlaps," Falcone says. "Everybody seems to help each other."

With the popularity of local green markets and an increase in custom-order and specialty foods, membership at the kitchen is growing. Giaccone says he fields seven or eight inquiries a day about new memberships. He recently had someone call about making acai bowls; another wants to start a chocolate-covered pretzel business.

"It's nice to hear people's ideas," he says. "The list never ends."

Artis Henderson is a freelance writer and author of 'Unremarried Widow,' a New York Times Editors' Choice; find her at artishenderson.com and on Twitter.